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Tag: triage

After a visit to the out of hours GP service (go to doc) I was still concerned enough to visit the children’s A&E dept at Central Manchester. It was late, it was cold, it was busy – but we were seen promptly by the triage nurse who really reassured our daughter (4 y/o). It was a case of better safe than sorry as she was pretty poorly and we left with antibiotics and peace of mind. Having a children’s A&E department is really important as a Saturday night at your typical A&E cab be pretty grim. Thanks for good all round care and service.

– after I was re-measured, I was really upset that I could not get help from hospital; but my GP got me access to the correct sized RAL class 2 stockings to help me avoid post thrombosis syndrome.

– my physio returned my telephone call to give me new exercises when I got stressed about my walking not improving.

– Until December 2012, my GP had a superb computer booking system that allowed patients to book online. And view appointments online. It was invaluable throughout the INR testing.

– The convenience and ease in that INR testing could be done through my GP surgery, rather than needing to visit Addenbrookes.

What could have been done better:

– A and E or my GP or CamDoc could have taken my symptoms seriously, and helped me get an earlier (DVT) diagnosis. I was in a lot of pain, for a five-week period. And my leg was swollen and useless for months, possibly as a result of the delay in getting access to warfarin treatment.

– Addenbrookes Thrombosis Treatment Team/Anti-Coagulation Team could have given me access to a DVT Consultant, or someone that could examine my leg, explain my DVT and help advise what was stopping me walking. My leg was swollen, cold, bent, and I could not move my toes.

– Other than the first ten days when I was visiting the TTT and could ask the nurses questions (they just told me that everyone was different, and some people can’t walk, and when I mentioned chest pains and my other leg also being swollen and hurting, they told me it was unlikely I had another clot and failed to help me), I had no access to care/advise during my three months on warfarin and that made the whole process a lot more stressful than it needed to be.

– Addenbrookes could have had a DVT Consultant talk to me, and discuss my treatment, and concerns, before sending out a standard letter to take me off warfarin, without any interaction with me over a period of months.

– My walking got worse after I discontinued warfarin, and I had no contact to seek help, guidance or advice.

– Bupa could have communicated promptly with the Thrombosis Treatment Team to make sure that I got access to the treatment that I needed.

– My GP could have liaised with me regularly, and kindly. Rather than initially shouting at me, then at subsequent appointments watching the clock during appointments, and at another appointment suggesting taking away an MSK referral when the nurse insisted that I see a GP for chest pain.

– My GP could have retained their – superb – online booking system, after the December 2012 computer upgrade.

After 3 wks of abdo pain I was instructed by my GP, that if my complaint worsened to go to A&E. 2 wks after that it did, so as instructed I went where I managed to tell the triage nurse “abdo pain & diarrhoea” (perhaps I should have said change in bowel habits). Immediately she threw her head in her hands and seemed to be berating me for going there, “we don’t want you here, we don’t like diarrhoea, this is ridiculous etc”. My GP had told me to do this so I didn’t appreciate this apparent level of unprofessionalism when I was worried about my condition anyway.

I was immediately whisked into a barrier room, with no explanation as to what was happening and no chance to ask if someone could tell my dad who came with me where I was. I had to text him. Nobody asked if I came with anyone. I texted dad to knock on the A&E door where the staff then told him I wasn’t in A & E and that I should be in the waiting room.

Unsurprisingly they seemed to forget about me. They had parked a cleaning trolley in front of the door with no window that had to stay shut. It felt like I was literally put in that room and forgotten about. When dad finally found me, I was so upset and overwhelmed I burst into tears and when he asked the nurse what was happening, she said in what I found an impatient and abrupt way “I did tell you it would be a 2-3 hour wait for a consultant”. Which she definitely did not and if I was that contagious like they must have thought, 2-3 hours seems a ridiculous time to keep me in isolation with my dad being allowed to come and go as he liked. He had to remove his coat but was allowed to bring it into the barrier room with me – is this ‘containment’?

I wasn’t even allowed to the toilet. I had a commode wheeled in, with no toilet paper and had to hold the doors shut while I was using it because the various nurses didn’t knock when coming in. How many nurses were working on my case I don’t kow because there were so many faces peeking in the door I felt like a circus show.

Nurses snapped at me and I felt like an inconvenience to them. One nurse was very rough when removing the cannula from my hand I couldn’t wait to get out of there to be honest even though my case is ongoing.

The doctor was fabulous, can’t fault her one bit. The nurses I met however need to sort their attitudes to patients out. I was worried and upset anyway, fine put your gown and gloves on but you won’t catch anything from talking to me. I won’t bite. I felt like an experiment to be honest. The doc was brilliant but the nurses did nothing to attempt to explain what was happening despite me being on the verge of tears from frustration.

Bedside manner was lacking among the nurses I met. I appreciate they work long hours in a stressful environment but if they can’t hack it they shouldn’t be in A&E. You can know everything about procedures and infection control but if you make patients feel rubbish in the meantime, you are not a good practitioner.

Last week my daughter suffered terribly at the hands of a doctor in the A & E Department who refused to give her Entonox when she had four 6/7inch lacerations to the top of her left leg. She has always been given Entonox as her injuries where usually very bad and needed stitching as a result of her self-harming.

After seeing the triage nurse, I asked if she could have Entonox to help her manage the pain as this was what she was usually given. We were asked to wait in the reception area for a minute while she went to the minor’s area, I presumed she was going to get her seen. When nothing happened for about 20 minutes and my daughter started crying. I went to the minors department to ask for help as my daughter was in incredible pain.

She was offered two paracetamol for the pain and told she would just have to wait. My daughter was just left with no idea of how long she would have to wait or cope with such incredible pain. After a while I went back to the minors department and complained. It was only then that I was told that it was under the direct instructions of a particular doctor that my daughter was not to be given Entonox. I was disgusted and asked to speak with the doctor. I then went on to try and explain to the doctor that she needed to have the Enotonx to help her cope with the pain and that she had it every time she had such injuries it was about six weeks since she last had it. I could not understand why the doctor was refusing to give her the Entonox when they had not even examined her.

I didn’t get any answers from the doctor who just argued with me then said they’d had had enough and just walked out of the room. I felt the doctor was awful,very patronising and very argumentative. Having to argue with a doctor to try and get help whilst my daughter was just left alone in the waiting area crying in pain in front of everyone. It is a disgrace! ! I have complained about this particular doctor in June last year as I think they have a problem with people who self-harm. It is totally unacceptable to be treated this way.

I insisted that my daughter was seen by a consultant and eventually after suffering for nearly two hours she was given the Entonox. She was also was given Tramadol/Diclofenic and Paracetamol. She then had 40 stitches in her leg. I have filed another complaint with regards to the doctor’s conduct with the Patient Relations Department. If we could possibly avoid going to the A & E Department we would. It is unacceptable to be treated this way.

My wife was diagnosed with TTP (Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura) sometime ago. Which is a very rare blood disorder, since then she has to be careful of contracting an infection as this could flare up the TTP. We are both very cautious of this fact. So this affects our judgment of care pathways.

My wife sometimes suffers with abscesses, and after three to four days an abscess in her groin was starting to cause considerable discomfort.

A couple of days ago, at 4.30 pm, I took my wife to Buckland Hospital and after a very short wait she was seen by one of the nurses. The nurse tested my wife’s blood pressure, heart etc then took a look at the abscess. After sometime the nurse consulted with a gynaecologist at WWH (William Harvey Hospital) in Ashford Kent. He requested my wife to go over to Ashford to see him. We were given a letter and told to hand this into the A&E reception. We then travelled the 30 min journey to WWH.

At 5.30pm, we arrived at WWH A&E , and were met with a waiting room full past capacity. With people waiting in the corridors. We handed the letter into reception.

At 8.45pm, my wife was seen by the triage nurse. She tested my wife’s blood pressure, heart etc. Then informed my wife that she would let the gynaecologist know that she was there. We both heard the telephone conversation between the nurse and gynaecologist. He informed the nurse that he was now going home. The nurse then informed us that the gynaecologist taking over will see my wife. We were then told to go back to the waiting room until we were called.

At 10pm, I started asking the receptionist when my wife would be seen. Soon after she was seen by the gynaecologist. At this point I became very concerned as the gynaecologist looked like she had not slept for a week. During my wife’s consultation we informed the consultant of my wife’s TTP and reminded her that my wife takes daily aspirin. After a short while the gynaecologist prescribed my wife some antibiotics and told her to take ibuprofen for the pain. I informed the gynaecologist that my wife takes the daily aspirin and that taking ibuprofen isn’t a good idea. She agreed, and then moments later again suggested ibuprofen for the pain.

We left WHH at around 11pm.

During this experience we saw staff that looked like walking zombies, patients that had been into A&E, discharged, and then returning. Dirty clinical areas (Blood stains on the hospital beds). Frustrated staff, and patients.

This care pathway of around 6.5 hours could have been a better experience to say the least. Not only was this exercise a waste of public money, and time. It was also frustrating for the staff and the patients. At this point I don’t blame the staff at A&E as they all looked rushed off their feet. The staff seem to do all they can to make it work, and that’s the problem. Based on our experience, this hospital gets by on the willingness of front line staff. The managers and commissioners need to look at this situation before our A&Es in East Kent hit crisis.

I had a baby prematurely at Queens hospital in romford. During labour, most of the staff were nice, minus one who was rude. I was seen very quicky and assessed and was let into a private room where they tried to stop my labour while i could have steroids to help develop my babies lungs. The midwife there at the time was great, however my mother said (i didnt really remember much myself) she almost dropped my placenta on the floor :S. I was treated pretty well, however i did notice as i came in that triage was full of women, in labour on the floor, the place seemed really disorganised. Also when i asked for toast i was given bread :S

Also at another interval i had to come back for my post natal check, previously i was discharged, although my little boy was still in hospital at the time. They put me in a room with lots of mothers with their new borns, kept me waiting for ages and with a dvd showing child birth and how important it was to bond with your newborn. Not something which was very nice to watch when you had to be seperated from your baby. I had to stay for my check, but i didnt go back for my 2nd. I think staff should consider the feelings of patients like myself more.

The majority of the staff in the NICU were very nice, minus a few. The first rude staff member i encountered was when i saw my son for the first time. We were discussing milk expression, i wanted to know how long you could keep it for and it was a lot to take in on the first day of being a mum to a premie, so i asked i doctor for further advice and he was happy to oblige, although the nurse wasnt happy and said to the doctor “i already told her what she was meant to do” and i can honestly say i left that place feeling rubbish. However that incident was topped by an incident where a member of staff was extremely rude to me, accusing me of not changing my child nappy and “paying more attention to his mouth care” which led to me bursting into tears and my mother and her having a heated row in the NICU. Also there was another nurse there would not take my son out of his incubator so i could feed him. She came over held him up in the incubator put the bottle in and when he was done she layed him back down a shut the door. There were also occasions when i came in to see my son and he had no clothes on, even though his drawer was full of clothes. There was also occasions when nappies were being taken from his drawer and my partner and i resorted to having to count them all.All the other nurses there however, were lovely and they couldnt do enough, however i believe some members of staff I met let the caring nurses down.

Since, my boy has being doing really well. He was transferred to King George, Goodmayes, which i preferred. In my opinion it was a more relaxed atmosphere. At the time there, i kept getting lots of colds, but the nurses told me not to worry, to ring in for his progress and hope i felt better soon.

My experience at Queens was mixed, my opinion however was that the kind staff out weighed the bad ones. I felt they let the others down. From my experience I also think there needs to be major improvements regarding triage, as I found it quite disorganised.

Attended A&E recently in complete pain. Side of my face had swollen up and painkillers are no longer working. I was aware I had a temperature and probably had some form of infection hence swollen face and pain.

I put up with this for 48 hours as I had been trying to get a dental appointment without success.

I was taken to A&E by my daughter who was quite concerned about me. Saw the Triage Nurse who seemed totally disinterested and told me to see my dentist. I explained the problems about getting an appointment but she was adamant they would not see me and I was wasting my time.

I told her I was in real pain and my face was so swollen everything just really hurt. She said she saw my face was swollen but said I was just wasting my time as this is a dentistry problem.

Today I had to take my daughter to Accidents and Emergency. After the last three experiences with Milton Keynes General Hospital, I decided to drive to Northampton instead.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised. We were triaged in about 20 minutes and seen to shortly after. The service was friendly, efficient and informative.

Over the last few years I’ve had to take various members of my family in to Milton Keynes General, and each time I was astounded by how dirty, inefficient, clumsy the treatment we have had has been.

For example, our most recent visit was when my son, then 3 years old, managed to cut his head open to the bone. We rushed him to A&E at MKGH only to sit waiting for three hours to see the Triage Nurse (odd considering there were only three other people in the waiting area the whole time we were there). This was the sign of things to come, as we managed to leave 7 hours later.

After these experiences I think the best thing to do to Milton Keynes General is for it to be closed down.

In the last four weeks, I have unfortunately been to the A&E Dept twice with my adult daughter. Both times, I found the time sat waiting in the waiting room totally unacceptable, Registration and triage were good, not too long to wait, but waiting to see a Doctor in Minor’s is appalling.

To add insult to injury, when we were finally called into minor’s the calm and quiet is deafening, two rows of computers with Doctors and Nurses looking at them, and writing, this is wrong, they should be seeing the poorly people waiting to be seen in the waiting room, it’s totally unacceptable. It’s a chair moving exercise, and it’s unfair to people who are sick and needing medical treatment, otherwise, why would they be there? certainly not for the good of their health!

Everyone is kind, and apologetic, but I’m afraid it’s not enough, someone needs to do something, it could be more efficient, if someone cared enough. I suggest one of your employees tries the experience, believe me, if we had a choice, we would not be there, genuine accidents and emergencies should be treated as such, and not left in a waiting room to get worse, and feeling like no one cares. If you want your hospital to be complimented on it’s care and efficiency, then do something about it, make A&E a place where people do not dread to go, but somewhere where they know people care,

Im having a very complicated pregnancy and have to had to visit the triage department many times. The midwifes are over run and you can feel this when there, everytime i have been seen by a midwife within reasonable time but then put back in the waiting room for 5-7 hours for a doctor! You feel rushed and alot of the times i have been there the answers to what is going on is usually “we dont have an answer to why this has happened”…they are the qualified doctor and midwife and cant explain why im having theses complications!! Its shocking! …. I must give it to the Antenatal Assessment unit, most midwifes are amazing and understanding and do try there best to make you feel reassured. I just hope i get answers soon to my complications as this is adding to the worry. Also this is my second child and my previous child was born prematurely you think theyd be more determinded to find out whats going on.